The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Is Killing It In Ticket Pre-Sales

The second installation of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug is coming to theaters this Friday. And you'd have to have spent the past twelve years under a rock--ignoring all the hub bub of the three The Lord of the Rings movies--not to know it's going to be big. Really, the question is just how big. And we're beginning to get some idea as Fandango reveals The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is leading this week's pre-sale tickets as well as scoring an impressive 94 out of 100 on Fandango's Fanticipation movie buzz indicator. All this science talk means you guys are clearly stoked about Bilbo's next adventure.

Surveying more than 2,000 online ticket buyers, Fandango broke down the appeal to the latest trek into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien as follows:

· 86% are excited to see the full head-to-tail reveal of the dragon, Smaug
· 85% want to see the return of Orlando Bloom to the franchise
· 74% are attracted to the darker tone of The Desolation of Smaug
· 72% are intrigued by the addition of a new female character (Tauriel) to the series

Looks like there is lots to be excited about within this sequel to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Frankly, I'm surprised that only 86% are excited to see Smaug in all his glory. And as someone who has seen-- and overall enjoyed--the movie, I'm stunned the giant spiders didn't even get a mention in this survey. Guys, they are terrifying!

Nonetheless, according to this survey, the majority of Hobbit/Lord of the Rings fans will be plenty pumped about this clip, featuring a younger, brasher Legolas (Bloom) and his sister in arms Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly):

While some might assume that screenings for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be total sausage fests, they'd be wrong. While 51% of those surveyed were male, 49% were female fans eager to see what danger lurks as Bilbo and Thorin's band of dwarves wind their way to the Lonely Mountain. Geek girls represent!

If you can't wait to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, check out four clips here, read Eric's rundown of 20 minutes of sneak peek footage, or check out this behind the scenes video below, which boasts a bit of the aforementioned and deeply creepy spider sequence! Plus some of Ian McKellen cursing in bloopers. Who doesn't want to see that?